Villar's PremiereREIT eyes P3.2-billion IPO 

The Villar Group is listing another company.—Premiere Island Power REIT Corp.—in the stock exchange to raise up to P3.2 billion in fresh capital for power infrastructure investments, according to a report by Manila Standard.

PremiereREIT said in a statement over the weekend it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission an application to conduct a real estate investment trust offering in November.

PremiereREIT is a power and infrastructure real estate investment trust sponsored by Prime Asset Ventures Inc., the investment holding company of Manuel Paolo Villar, the eldest son of billionaire Manuel Villar.

PremierREIT plans sell 1.4 billion in secondary common shares at a maximum price of P2 per share, with an over-allotment option for another 210 million in secondary common shares.

PAVI subsidiaries S.I. Power Corp. and Camotes Island Power Generation Corp. are the selling shareholders.

PremiereREIT’s property portfolio consists of land, land rights, key power plant assets and other ancillary infrastructure that are being leased to and utilized by the sponsors for their power generation operations.

Key metrics of properties include a weighted average lease expiry of 9.24 years and a total generating capacity of 21.27 megawatts.

PremiereREIT aims to be among the leading diversified power and infrastructure REITs in the Philippines in terms of portfolio, profitability, growth, sustainability and dividend yield.

Aside from venturing into the best-performing asset classes in the traditional energy sector providing social and missionary electrification in underserve areas, PremiereREIT plans to engage in greener, renewable and sustainable energy as part of ensuring different asset classes with continues capital appreciation and social accountability.

China Bank Capital Corp. is the sole issue manager and underwriter for the offering.

PremierREIT is the second Villar-owned REIT company to list this year. In June, VistaREIT Inc. of Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. raised P4.8 billion from an initial public offering.

The Villar group is also planning to list its coffee chain business Coffee Project.

Once approved, PremiereREIT will be the second power-related REIT offering, after Citicore Energy REIT Corp. which invests in income-generating renewable energy real estate properties.

CREIT, the first energy-themed REIT to list in the PSE, raised P6.4-billion from its maiden share offering in February to purchase properties in Bulacan and South Cotabato.